Greetings to all,

I am happy to share my experiences for those who may be interested in mineralogy and geological history. I travel a lot. This photo is me near my home which is for now Thetford mines Quebec. Canada. I was smiling because I mounted a horse for the first time.
I am a city boy you see. I was brought up only 7 miles from the famous New Street Quarry in Passaic, New Jersey. I lived there till I went to the University of Rhode Island in 1970 and I began my life in New England. I have four beautiful daughters Laura, Elisabeth, Katrina and Hannah. When I lived in Middletown, Connecticut I had the pleasure of meeting Mr Richard Schooner there. Who was my mentor in many ways.
I collected when the Strickland quarry dumps were bulldozed into a golf course. I covered the pegmatite quarries systematically and found large spessartine garnet xls in a Quarry owened by an excavation company. This find was mentioned in a Mineralogical Record.
I was a welder and sometimes worked repairing heavy equipment in quarries or around excavation. Finally I became a certified welding inspector. I had to retire from welding. I began traveling more and more toward the North. I didn’t have much choice because the field of inspection and steel fabrication was in Canada more and more due to the exchange rate.
I got to work in a shop at Gouverneur NY for awhile and met Bill Deloraine the Geologist for the Balmat Zinc mines at the time.

Because of being away and other mistakes I ended up divorced.
Now I find myself in Thetford mines. I met a wonderful lady, Guylaine, who has been my partner for five years. I travel around Quebec for work but am always with in 2 hours of home in Thetford Mines. I have my collection and all at Guylaine’s which means I am installed in Thetford Mines Quebec.but I have to keep an American address because the powers that be want it that way. I am never certain if I won’t be sent home by changes in the world economy/politics..
I plan on making visits to New jersey and Connecticut/ Rhode Island this year.
Or beyond to do some digging. I hope to do my digging in NJ in the late winter, around march or april.. In the summer possible in Quebec or in the North.

I hope to collect and continue to collect minerals and photograph them in detail, macroscopic detail along with places so as to document some of my finds in my travels
.
I have a number of past trips to share, where I found things or where I just was there,
hoping to find things. But in any case I have photos of places of geologic interest.

These will be coming soon

I too, want to thank Jolyon and his crew, for making it possible to contribute to his site and feel welcome to do so.

Sincerely
Fred Schuster